Signs, Signs, Everywhere a sign

What would you think of a political candidate who puts a sign in your front yard without asking you for permission first?

I’ve seen this happen TWICE this week! Once to me, and also to a few of my neighbors- from two different political candidates running in our provinces by-election.

Earlier in the week- let’s call in it Monday – I saw a car moving slowly by our house. It pulled up into a neighbors driveway and a guy jumped out with some signs for one of the political parties. He walks up to my closest neighbors house and starts putting the sign NOT in her lawn but her front flower bed. My neighbor barely speaks English, is very elderly, and always looks at us quite perplexed when we say we are going to vote (whenever there’s been some kind of election going on that is). So I know she didn’t give them permission to put the sign in her yard. I also knew that she would be upset when she discovered it. Then he went to the lady beside her house and put a sign on her lawn and kept moving down the street that way with the car following. We removed the sign for our neighbor.

I was thinking- there is no way my neighbor said yes to a sign, and I’m pretty sure that a whole street full of people all side by side wouldn’t ALL allow signs – most of them have never had political signs on their lawn in the past and definitely not for the party that was being promoted.

Then yesterday I get up and look outside, check my mail, and I notice a little green piece of paper in my door. I pull it out and take a look and it’s from one of the other parties- one we supported in the federal election this past January, one that we did allow to put a sign up at that time. The note was thanking us for allowing them to put up a sign and had a number we could call if we wanted it removed.

What’s this? It sounded like something off the internet where by signing up once you are automatically “opted in” for anything else that comes later, and you have to manually opt out on your own if you don’t want to participate anymore.

When did political parties start taking on sleazy internet type methods of getting people to participate or accept their junk?

Why would they assume that because I was promoting one party in the federal election that I would back the same party in a provincial election? Yes sometimes people stick with the same party both federally and provincially, but not always. Hey, traditionally in Ontario where I live the elected provincial government party has almost always been the official opposition party of the federal government. When the same party is running both the province and the nation it usually works out badly for all – see last two years of Canadian politics for reference.

I come from a very political family. Actually I come from a historical political family. My great great grand-father was one of Canada’s 13 founding fathers of confederation. Other members of my family have also been involved in provincial and municipal politics. But I’m a bit of a black sheep. I’m sure I vote quite the opposite of most of my family members. I don’t always vote for the same party. I vote for whichever candidate I think will do the best for the area that I’m living in first and move on from there. If the best candidate for my area is going to ruin the city, province or nation, I go for the next best candidate.

So, that’s another reason why I’m fuming over this sign that is in my yard. I’m not necessarily voting for that candidate, AND they didn’t ask me if they could deface my property. That’s a big strike against this candidate- and for the other candidate who had signs put up on my neighbors lawn without her permission too. I still have to decide who I’m voting for- I’ve gotta do my research and read up on all the people running for election. So, in the end I might end up voting for this person who ASSumed they could put a sign on my lawn without asking, but they’ve ticked me off and I can’t guarantee anything right now.

Oh and did I tell you the sign isn’t a little one? No, it’s huge! It’s not pounded into my lawn either. It’s attached to the metal trellis on the front of my house with computer ties! I have to go out there with some scissors to remove the darn ties and get rid of the sign.

Odd Mode:

Speaking of signs …

I’ve been intrigued by one of the residents of my street for some time. This person lives several blocks East of me. For the last year or so, whenever we pass by the house, I’ve noticed this persons front porches windows. I’ve noticed them because more times than not they are totally plastered with handwritten signs and drawings. We are always driving when we pass the house and it’s at a tricky curve in the road just past a traffic light, so it’s difficult to stop right in front of the house and just GAWK like I really want to do. LOL

I really have to stop and take pictures some time. As I’ve passed by in the past I’ve noticed the words Murder, killed, blood, rent and just long rants. It’s like this person gets creative and writes out long rants at whatever he or she is mad about that day and then tapes all the pages onto their front porch windows and door. I’m pretty sure the person has a screw or two loose to be doing something like this. I do have pity for his/her neighbors though- it would be hard to try to sell the house next door with the neighbors strangely posted thoughts plastered all over the windows and sometimes lawn next door.

I will get a picture sometime- I’m sure you’ll be as amused and intrigued as I am when you see it. 🙂